Hi all,
I was and remain my own worst enemy. I used to find fault with myself for that, but now I’m thankful for it. I understand Paul, who referenced his past sins in Romans 7, I Corinthians 15, Galatians 1, Philippians 3, and I Timothy 1, while also writing of the great mercy he was shown by the Lord. We can relate, I think.
Being my own worst enemy means I check myself, my thoughts, my actions, all the time. I don’t go looking for sin, but I do ‘scan’ my spirit as I am speaking or writing for any grievance or misstep I might have done. Because of that, when I’ve not had an opportunity to make things right with someone, it bothers me to this day.
Nearly 30 years ago, we were having a meal with friends at a restaurant, and upon seeing a friend order swordfish, I commented about how swordfish are endangered and the food industry was looking for alternatives. I felt SO grieved inside, for I had made the comment in small part to make her aware she was eating a threatened species, and it made her uncomfortable. That wasn’t my place to do so, and to this day, if I saw her, I would apologize for that comment so long ago. (I don’t know if she is dead or alive at this point, so perhaps I’ll have to apologize in heaven) I am my own worst enemy, and I’m sure she forgave me, as I know by the look on her face she was hurt by what I said, but was too gracious to respond.
But I’ve used that sin to develop greater sensitivity to how my words and motives might elevate me while putting down others. I’ve used it to watch for pride and hurtful sarcasm before it comes out of my mouth. The sin and the grace of forgiveness are held together in my memory of that event.
We may wonder why the Lord chose us.
A Roman named Vegetius, who died in the year 383, studied why the Roman army of the first century was invincible. By his time, 300 years later, the army was filled with aristocrats, the sons of government officials who hadn’t had a serious job their whole lives. They grew up in luxury, and the army by the mid-300s AD had grown weak, and the Empire was fading as a result.
He discovered that in the first century, Rome’s army consisted of men who had rough lives. They purposely sought men who worked in the fields and industry, who had grown up working in all kinds of weather, brawlers, fighters, the roughest segment of society. They needed men who could endure freezing cold and the heat of summer, who were used to long and hard days. They needed men who could work while hungry and thirsty. Those made the best soldiers and was a direct reason the Roman Army was the best in the world.
Paul wrote to Timothy to ‘endure hardship as a soldier’, in II Timothy 2: 3-6, and to train like an athlete, and work like a farmer.
The Lord purposely chose you because you know sin. The word ‘hardship’ in verse 3 is the Greek word ‘sunkakopatheo’. The word ‘sun’ or ‘syn’ means with, and kakopatheo means ‘to suffer harm’. Paul is telling Timothy to ‘suffer harm with me’ as a soldier in Christ. Do you have a close friend who can relate to your hardships, either past or present, like Paul and Timothy? Paul next says: “No soldier entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who invited him to be a soldier.”
The Greek word for ‘affairs’ (of this life) is the word ‘pragmateia’. We get the English word ‘pragmatic’ from it. It means ‘the daily transactions of life’, in other words, no soldier concerns himself with the life a civilian might lead. A soldier’s life is different; it is focused on life as a soldier. Vegetius also discovered that first-century Roman armies camped outside a city, and the soldiers weren’t allowed to go into the city except on assignment. If you see a Christian living like the world, they have lost or never known they are different; they are not a civilian in the Lord’s eyes. Timothy would have understood the word pictures; in fact, Paul said in v7: The Lord will give you understanding in what I’m saying.
The reason the Lord chose you is because you have had a rough life.
Remembering our past without also remembering His mercy and grace to us, is torment. They must be held together for the purpose of focusing on the task at hand. We are as soldiers, athletes and farmers for the Lord. We are no longer just civilians going about our business however we choose. For us who have Christ in us, we are aware we carry Him wherever we go; to work, play, entertainment, free time, holiday, and family time. Christ is in us, and we must carry that awareness. It helps focus us. To us in New Testament reality, there is no such thing as secular. All we are, all we have, all we do, is sacred. Christ is in us, all we have is from Him.
Paul told Timothy to endure hardship with him as a soldier, not entangling himself in the civilian things of life, to be focused on God and His people, that he might please Him who invited him to be a soldier. In the first century, soldiers had sponsors, recruiters we would say today. They were responsible for finding and recruiting the best possible soldiers for Rome from among the roughest of people. Paul tells Timothy that the Lord is his recruiter and sponsor. That is the same for us. Jesus recruited us into His body because we have had a rough life; we know sin. We know hardships. We know hurt. Jesus sought us out. On purpose. With a plan. With a purpose. With a future.
Paul also told Timothy to train like an athlete.
Timothy would have instantly also understood this exhortation. A first-century athlete came off the street into the gym. They removed all their clothes, as we have been stripped of our own righteousness. The trainer would then massage olive oil into the completely naked athlete’s skin, then send them to the sauna, a dry heat, to let the oil soak in, and so their muscles can be relaxed. Then they went back to the massage table for more oil, then back into the sauna.
Before practice or a sporting event, the trainer would then spread a hydrogenated olive oil onto the athlete’s skin. This thick, lard-like gel coated the athlete’s head to toe for the purpose of making him slippery to his opponent. If you don’t see it by now, the Lord is the trainer, the oil is the Holy Spirit, and the thick oil is the anointing that comes on us when we are in a difficult situation – it is a temporary anointing, presence of God, to get us through the battle.
After the contest, the athlete went back into the gym, and the trainer scraped all the lard-like oil off him to be cleaned and recycled for the next battle. Then back into the sauna he went after a final rub down and coating of normal olive oil. In verse 7 it says the athlete must ‘play by the rules’. Peter would write* around this same time that we must first add to our faith moral excellence, the knowledge, self-control, consistency in that self-control, godliness, which is an overall quality of life in Christ, brotherly love, and unconditional love. Those are the ‘rules’, the character issues. There is no cheating in the Lord; we must be upright, moral, and ethical. We are as the athlete, stripped of our own clothing, clothed in the Spirit with the Holy Spirit and God’s presence – corruption would compromise our covering. *II Peter 1: 5-8
A missionary friend in Cairo told me of a young woman she knew. That young woman in Cairo, Egypt became a Christian and was discovered to be so by her father. He beat her, stripped her of all clothing, and threw her out the door. She ran naked to her friends through the streets many blocks, completely naked. When she came through the door she was so embarrassed by her nakedness, but her friends and the people on the street all testified she was in fact clothed with a light, white, flowing garment and she was not naked at all. It was learned as new spread that not a single person who saw her run down the street saw her nakedness; they all saw her clothed with that light garment of white. That garment disappeared when her friend gave her some of her own clothes and she changed into them privately. We are clothed in light. We are clothed with the oil of the Spirit.
Yes, the Lord is our Recruiter, and our Trainer. We forget what we were but for the lessons learned, we hold those memories dear, and we endure difficult times, but now with the presence of God in us, on us, and all around us.
The last thing Paul said was to work like a farmer AND to eat the vegetables you are planting. In other words, practice what you preach. It’s hard work, Paul acknowledged.
These things are processes which help us both forget and remember our past. We will succeed, and we will fail. We learn from our past, and each memory of the past must be joined with a memory of His love, grace, and forgiveness. Believe that grace and love which Paul wrote in Ephesians 3: 20, is ‘beyond knowing’ (with our minds).
Press toward the mark of the high invitation in Christ…it is a process and none of us are perfect nor have we attained. But we press on…
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn